22 Facts About Jack Gilford

1.

Jack Gilford was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Save the Tiger.

2.

Jack Gilford's parents were Romanian-born Jewish immigrants Sophie "Susksa", who owned a restaurant, and Aaron Gellman, a furrier.

3.

Jack Gilford was the second of three sons, with an older brother Murray and a younger brother Nathaniel.

4.

Jack Gilford was discovered working in a pharmacy by his mentor Milton Berle.

5.

Jack Gilford's first appearance on film was a short entitled Midnight Melodies in which he did his imitations of George Jessel, Rudy Vallee and Harry Langdon.

6.

In 1938, Jack Gilford worked as the master of ceremonies in the first downtown New York integrated nightclub, Cafe Society owned and operated by Barney Josephson.

7.

Jack Gilford was a unique blend of the earlier style of the Yiddish theater, vaudeville and burlesque, and started the tradition of monology such as later comedians Lenny Bruce and Woody Allen used.

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8.

Jack Gilford was nominated for several Tony Awards for best supporting actor as Hysterium in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and for his role as Herr Schultz in Cabaret.

9.

Jack Gilford was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in for his role as Phil Green in Save the Tiger.

10.

Jack Gilford shared the stage with a young Carol Burnett in this production, and reprised his performance with her in two separate televised versions of the show, in 1964 and in 1972.

11.

Jack Gilford's career was derailed for a time during the 1950s and McCarthyism.

12.

Jack Gilford was an activist who campaigned for social change, integration and labor unions.

13.

Jack Gilford was quite active both socially and politically in left-wing causes, as was his wife, Madeline Lee.

14.

Jack Gilford found work towards the end of the 1950s and during the early 1960s with the end of the Joseph McCarthy era.

15.

Jack Gilford made his comeback as Hysterium in the 1962 Broadway musical A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.

16.

Jack Gilford co-starred in the play with his close friend, Zero Mostel, who was blacklisted during the McCarthy era.

17.

Jack Gilford became successful mostly through roles on the Broadway stage, such as Drink To Me Only, Romanoff and Juliet, and The Diary of Anne Frank.

18.

Jack Gilford later enjoyed success in film and television, as well as a series of nationwide television commercials for Cracker Jack.

19.

Jack Gilford met actress Madeline Lee at progressive political meetings and events during the late 1940s.

20.

Jack Gilford entertained at many of these events, some of them produced by Lee.

21.

Jack Gilford was married at the time and divorced her first husband soon after meeting Gilford.

22.

Jack Gilford is buried in the Yiddish theater section of Flushing, New York's Mount Hebron Cemetery.